Non Diabetic Hypoglycamia and Functional Neurological Disorder

[Collie44]

Hi Everyone

Do you suffer from non diabetic hypoglycamia, and if so, do you know why, and have you been diagnosed. This has been a problem for me since I was a child - yet no Endocronologist to date, has been able to find a cause for my hypo's. I am wondering if it is the FND causing it. They come they go, but as I've got older, the lows are lower, and recovery is longer. They scare me silly sometimes. Because food does not control them, nothing controls them. And the doctors don't believe that htis is happening to me.

[JustDomUK]

Hi. Sorry for the late reply.

Just so I get an understanding. Are you saying you suffer the symptoms of a hypo but without a drop in blood sugars?

What you could ask for is to wear a blood sugar monitoring device that monitors your blood sugars continually and you then log when you’re having a hypo. They usually have these at the diabetes centre that you can use for a couple of days and return.

Another avenue is the stomach.

[Collie44 in reply to JustDomUK]

Hi There

No no. I suffer normal hypos - with ALL the symptoms unfortunately. You can't have a hypo without a drop in blood sugar .. so yes my blood glucose levels always drop low, and as they drop, the symptoms become worse. I have actually already had a 5 days test wearing a monitor. It showed that my blood glucose levels were on the low side - but nothing conclusive, insofar as "what causes my hypo's'?" considering I am non diabetic. When the Pandemic struck, my Endocrinologist was about to test neuro chemicals. Because we are now wondering if my hypos are caused by my Functional Neurological Disorder, at brain level first, body level second. Not body first, as doctors have always focused on. It has been a lifelong mystery. One that i hope will be answered before I die. The answers would help so many. But just as Functional Neurological Disorder is not well understood by the medical fields overall, neither is all of the causes of non diabetic hypoglycemia. My GP totally believes I have hypos - but he is really old school. These days doctors are no proponents of hypoglycemia in non diabetics UNLESS it is caused by a tumor of some sort - all testing showed clear. Thank you for replying. I so wish I knew why this happens to me. At 55 it's getting harder to come back form the lows when they strike.

[JustDomUK in reply to Collie44]

Hi.

My aunt has this condition. She has lived most of her life eating regularly including snacks. She is a lady in her seventies now. She can’t miss a meal, if she does it is as if her stomach says.

“YOU told me we were going to have food and I ordered the insulin but YOU changed your mind!”

She ends up low and wobbly up to blacking out. She has to carry small glucose sweets with her.

It’s like there is a hypersensitive mechanism that is triggered by the stomach ahead of the food. When the food doesn’t come it’s like it can’t stop the insulin. A very very sensitive trigger.

Does diabetes run in your family? I ask that because I’m type 1 and my mum type 2 so it does in ours.

As a type 1 I struggle with coming back from hypos too. I’ve been told this is because over time my stomach is slowly being damaged by diabetes but it has also coincidentally occurred at the same time as me having unexplained neurological symptoms. My stomach says to me. “Food? Again? Now? Mañana zzzzzz.”

I’m sorry I can’t help find answers to the root of the problem. I can only empathise. But I would say this to you. Glucose is the food that the body doesn’t have to break down. It goes straight in. It may take time to get into your system but don’t be anxious because it is an autonomic thing that means you have no control over it and rightly so. There is no part of the conscious brain that can interfere with the process. We were designed exceptionally well. I know the horror of the hypo. The panic. The need for food. But glucose is the best and regular snacks and meals.

[Collie44 in reply to JustDomUK]

thank you for your encouraging words. They really are lovely. No diabetes doesn't run in my family - hence us being super surprised when our own son was diagnosed at 7. Hypoglycemia, although real, is just another medical phenomenon at times. I just wish it didn't make me so ill. Yes I agree. Snacks are the best. I always do my best to be prepared but unfortunately i'm prone to blind hypos - so i get no warning before I find myself dumped, and dropping lower quite fast.

[jhsbipolarfnd92]

I found out I had insulin resistance when I was 15 after dealing with hypoglycemia like this. It can only be diagnosed via a fasting blood glucose test. Basically every time I ate (before I was treated properly) my blood sugar would plummet because my insulin rose so much in response to any kind of food or snack.

[Ottaw]

I have hypoglycemia for the past 20 years and now it's getting worse, so I'm checking my sugar level each day, I also have IBS so I am not sure if these two are connected.

[Boeingbabe]

Hi, just wondering if u have slow stomach motility disorder which because the digestion is slowed can cause hypos. Primary hyper parathyroid disease can cause hypos too, and I’d be checking on your thyroid. Eat little and often will help! Every 2/3 hours, a cracker n cheese, a yoghurt, a banana, tblsp peanut butter etc etc Best of luck!

[Greenbean5]

Especially since this has been ongoing for you since chikdhood, have you been evaluated by a geneticist to see if you may have an enzyme deficiency or an inborn error of metabolism that causes hypoglycemia?

[Twigaa]

Hi I’m reviving this post.

I have both non diabetic hypoglycaemia and FND (with seizures) which are interlinked as they are both related to the body’s production of adrenaline.

One of the triggers of my FND seizures is sugar. Sugar is a stimulant that rapidly increases blood sugar but then wears off quickly and subsequently drops the blood sugar rapidly which causes the body to go into a stress response. Adrenaline is then produced by the body to try and stabilise blood sugar, which causes a seizure.

Avoiding sugar will help.